In Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) communication systems, the available spectral bandwidth W is divided into a number of spaced sub-carriers, f1, . . . , fN, which are used to transmit information. Specifically, information bits are first mapped to complex FDM symbols B1, . . . , BN. The signal to be transmitted, S(t), is constructed by individually modulating those symbols onto the sub-carriers over an FDM symbol duration, that is,S(t)=Σk=1N|Bk|cos[2πfkt+θk],where |Bk| and θk are the amplitude and the phase of complex symbol Bk, respectively, and t is the time variable. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is one particular example of FDM.
FIG. 1 illustrates a known system 100 for generating and transmitting an OFDM signal S(t). In the known system 100, a digital signal processor (DSP) 112, generates a sequence of baseband discrete complex samples of S(t), which are then converted to an analog continuous signal through use of a digital-to-analog converter 114. The analog signal generated by the D/A converter 114 is passed through a low-pass filter (LPF) 115, mixed to the carrier frequency by mixer 116, amplified with a power amplifier 118, and finally transmitted over the communication channel 120.
In the known system, information to be transmitted on sub-carriers is combined in the digital domain so that by the time digital to analog conversion occurs distinct sub-carrier symbols do not exist, e.g., separate symbols corresponding to different sub-carriers are not available to be subject to separate and distinct digital to analog conversion operations and/or separate analog signal processing operations.
One major drawback of the known OFDM signal generation technique is the high peak-to-average ratio of the transmitted signal to be amplified. Loosely speaking, the peak-to-average ratio is the ratio of the maximum and the average powers of a signal. In general, the signal reception capability depends on the average power of the signal. However, to avoid nonlinear distortion such as signal clipping, the power amplifier at the transmitter normally has to operate linearly across the full dynamic signal range of the generated signal. This usually requires use of a class A power amplifier. As a result of the linear nature of the power amplifier 118, the power consumption of the power amplifier mainly depends on the maximum transmission power. Hence, the peak-to-average ratio is an important measure of power consumption given the quality requirement of signal reception.
In the OFDM system 100, the analog signal to be amplified is the sum of many sinusoid waveforms, e.g., sub-carrier signal. Assuming complex OFDM symbols B1, . . . , BN are independent random variables, the analog signal at a given time instant will tend to be a Gaussian distributed random variable, which is well recognized to have a large peak-to-average ratio. Hence, the transmission of the OFDM signals generally consumes a significant amount of power, which is very undesirable, e.g., for mobile transmitters using battery as power supply. Various methods have been proposed to reduce the peak-to-average ratio of the OFDM signals. The basic ideas in these methods is to arrange complex symbols B1, . . . , BN appropriately to minimize the peak to average ratio. However, in such methods, the fundamental structure of signal transmission of combining sub-carrier signals first and then power amplifying the combined signal is normally the same as shown in FIG. 1.
Thus, in the existing methods, sub-carrier signals are first combined in the digital domain and then power amplified. This tends to result in large power consumption as the combined signals in general do not have a good, e.g., low, peak-to-average power ratio. In view of the above discussion, there is a need for improved frequency division multiplexed signal generation and transmission techniques which allow for lower peak-to-average power ratios and therefore improved energy efficiency during power amplification stages of signal generation. It is desirable that at least some of the new methods and apparatus be suitable for use with OFDM signals.